(( VaginaPagina ))

vulva-loving superstars!

Recent Entries

In case this is useful to other folk: I've been dealing with recurrent vaginosis since autumn 2015, and after lots of back-and-forth with a GUM clinic we've finally come to the conclusion that the most likely culprit is the anti-depressant mirtazapine.

We are redesigning courses for medical students to teach them what they need to know about sexual and genital health. If you have experience of going to the doctor for these issues, including asking about contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, screening, or any concerns about your genital or sexual health, we would like to hear from you.

They're running a short survey that could have a big impact not only on the current set of medical students at Oxford but across the UK and perhaps even more widely, due to Oxford's prestige. Please let them know what you'd like doctors to know!

So Because Of Reasons I just ended up doing a quick bit of research on how much we know about the effects of lubricants on sperm and therefore on trying to conceive. All links go to paywalled articles, but I'm pulling the info from the publically-viewable abstracts (can read in more depth if anyone's keen for me to do so).

A 1998 in vitro study found that all the forms of lube they tested had a negative effect on sperm motility. In 2011 an in vitro comparison of "nonspermicidal" lubricants found that Felis, Replens, and Aquasonic Gel had negative effects on sperm, but Pre-Seed (... what a terrible name) was fine. In April we've got another in vitro study comparing a wider range of lubricants (modified human tubal fluid (mHTF) control and in 10% Pre-Seed, Astroglide, and KY products (Sensitive, Warming, and Tingling) and baby, canola, sesame, and mustard oils), again finding that of the commercially-produced lubricants Pre-Seed and baby oil were the least bad for sperm, with mustard oil having an... interesting effect. Yet Another In Vitro Study (March 2014, comparing Sylk, Conceive Plus, glycerol (!!!), Johnson's Baby Oil, SAGE Culture Oil, Yes, Forelife, MaybeBaby and Pre-Seed) found again that Pre-Seed was best for vitality and Forelife was worst; Pre-Seed was best for motility and Sylk the worst; and none of these lubricants had any impact on DNA integrity; Conceive Plus was apparently the second-best lube for sperm function.

However, in contrast to in vitro studies, a longitudinal in vivo cohort study published in June (i.e. tracking how long it took actual humans using each type of lube to conceive versus humans not using additional lubricants, as opposed to - coarsely - dumping sperm in a warmed petri dish full of lube and videoing them) showed no effect of lubricant choice & use on ability to conceive.

The authors of that last study understandably call for a randomised controlled trial; in the meantime - and I am not a doctor! - I'd suggest that there's little benefit to avoiding lubricant or buying more expensive lubes (the longitudinal cohort study of actual patients showed no effect), but if you do want to minimise that risk consensus seems to be that Pre-Seed (I am still not over the name) is the way to go.

This week's links round-up includes: STEM, race, and gender; new research on babies and birth; new research on Cesarean deliveries; mandatory abstinence education and religious rights; and how to compliment women without objectifying them.

Also, a quick reminder about the other places you can find VP: contact_vpthe Vulvapedia for basic questions.

Superstars, thank you so much for giving us feedback on the maintainer-curated content. This is just a quick update to let you know that we're putting MMMMonday posts on hiatus for the summer, due to various life circumstances among the VP team. We'll keep you posted on when to look forward to them again!

Meanwhile, if you'd like more VP-related reading material, check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

apologies for the radio silence on my part here - I'm more actively ill than usual, in ways that make getting content posted here in a timely fashion is harder than my normal.

However, over on LJ this week we have a poll about maintainer-generated content in VP: if you like the MMMMondays and the link round-ups, please do say (whether that's in comments here, comments there, or the poll itself) - and indeed if it's not a big deal to you, please let us know that as well!

It's getting sweaty in a lot of parts of the world! Do you worry about body odor? How do you cope with it? Let's talk about it, both in the sense of actually using remedies to help with sweat and odor, and in the sense of coping mentally, despite society telling you you must smell like a flower at all times!

This week's round-up includes misogyny at the movies, filming surgical abortion, race and US maternal mortality, conflating sexual assault and bad manners, sexual assault under the guise of "trying something new," and being turned into a fat meme.

It's MMMMonday! Each Monday, we bring you special, maintainer-curated content intended to enrich your VP experience. Please note that you can find past MMMMonday posts using the "featured-posts" tag.

Also, a quick reminder about the other places you can find VP: contact_vpthe Vulvapedia for basic questions.

A couple of weeks ago, we asked a simple "question of the day" as our MMMMonday post, just to get people talking. A bunch of you participated, so we're trying it again!

When did you last make a new friend/acquaintance/connection with someone? You are welcome to talk about anything from the last time you formed a new close friendship or friend group, to the professor you really like, to the last time you had a surprisingly pleasant random conversation - whatever appeals to you! See you in the commments. :)

Let's see... I've been terribly remiss: apologies. To the tune of six weeks -- wow, I hadn't realised things had been quite that rough over here. IN ANY CASE, onward!

The links round-up for the week ending the 21st of March contains explaining genitals and gender to children; employers, birth control, and the Affordable Care Act; gender-exclusive children's books; and deciding whether to parent.

For the week ending the 25th of April, contents include women in combat, 10 things you can't buy with food stamps, a film about beauty standards and its social media campaign, normalizing sexual violence, and the difference between trans* women and drag queens.

... and finally, for this weekending the 4th of May, we have discussion of how patriarchy hurts everyone, police and the investigation of rape, on being unapologetically ugly, and feminism in the yoga studio.

It's MMMMonday! Each Monday, we bring you special, maintainer-curated content intended to enrich your VP experience. Please note that you can find past MMMMonday posts using the "featured-posts" tag.

We thought it was pretty great, and it's often not the message you hear about virginity and how people feel about their first sexual experiences. How does it make you feel to read it, and how does it mesh with your own experiences?

Note: the Post Secret site can be triggering, so if you're not familiar with it, visit with care.

This week's round-up includes 100 LGBTQ black women you should know, a couple of posts on trigger warnings, a contraceptive that protects against HIV, and neuroscience and strap-ons.

It's MMMMonday! Each Monday, we bring you special, maintainer-curated content intended to enrich your VP experience. Please note that you can find past MMMMonday posts using the "featured-posts" tag.Also, a quick reminder about the other places you can find VP: contact_vpfor questions and feedback on the way VP is run, and the Vulvapedia for basic questions.

This past Saturday, March 8th, was the 106th annual International Women's Day.

It's important to celebrate all the ways that women have made progress and taken stands for justice in the past year ( ... read more! )

Are there any women in particular you celebrated this year? What other ways can you think of to inspire change?